Time-piece dial



gModel.)

M. V. B. ETHRIDGE.

TIME PIECE DIAL.

No. 403,525: Patented May 21, 1889.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARTIN V. B. ETTIRIDGE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF T\YO- THIRD! TO JOHN STVANN, OF NE YORK, Y., AND HENRY E. \VAITE, OF \VEST NElVTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

TIME-PIECE DIAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 403,525, dated May 21, 1889.

Application filed January 18,1888. Serial No. 261,078. (Modeld To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known. that I, MARTIN V. B. ETl-IRIDGE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Time-Piece Dials; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the in-v and the invention consists in the construction and arrangement of mechanical parts, which operate automatically to shift or turn the entire series of spindles in unison at the end of each and every period of twelve hours, said mechanism working in such a manner as to turn the spindles in a forward direction at one movement and in a backward direction at the other movement, each alternate movement being in a direction the reverse of its predecessor; and the invention also comprises certain other details and peculiarities in the construction, combination, and arrangement of the several parts whereby the end in view is accomplished, substantially as will behereinafter more specifically stated, and then claimed.

The accompanying drawings represent one mode of the application of mechanism. for carrying out my invention.

In the drawings, Figure l is a view of a time-piece embracing my present improvements, a portion of the dial-face being broken away to expose the details of the mechanical arrangement within. Fig. 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional plan view through Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the operating-gears, cam, and the connecting-rod and shows their relation and mode of working. Fig. a is a detail view of the connecting-rod only.

Like letters of reference designate like parts throughout all the figures.

The general feature of a radial series of 1'otary spindles carrying numeral blocks, disks, plates, or other devices, upon which are delineated numerals denoting the hours of the day, said spindles being suitably j ournaled at each end in bearings in the time-piece, is now well-known from repeated descriptions in 5 5 various previous patents of mine, and need not be discussed at length or in detail here, as it would make the present description cumbrous, and is needless. To be sure, the construction of the spindles is subjected to considerable variation when used with different kinds of mechanism for revolving them. Sometimes the spindles are revolved individually. Sometimes they are rotated in unison. They always, however, preserve the 6 5 feature of being rotated, and also of carrying upon them devices which indicate the hours.

My present invention includes mechanism for automatically rotating the entire series of spindles at a single movement, which movement takes place at the end of every twelve hours. A companion application, filed of even date herewith, will be found to cover another species of mechanism for accomplishing the same purpose of jointly and automatically rotating the spindles. The spindles in this case are provided in addition to the numeralblock (which may be of any construction desired) with pinions located at convenient points. These pinions are lettered a.

A represents a large gear suitably toothed and properly sized to adapt it to engage every one of the series of pinions a.

The gear A is loosely mounted in a vertical position upon the same collar, 1), surrounding 85 the hour-hand sleeve as that in which the in ner ends of the spindles are journaled; hence it will be seen that the said gear is free to turn upon a fixed support. A revolution or partial revolution of the gear will obviously o shift the spindles and their numeral-blocks, since the said gear engages the pinions on all the spindles.

An arm, O, is securely riveted or otherwise fastened to the gear A in such. a manner as 9 5 to project outward therefrom in approximately a horizontal position, and it carries upon it a weight, The weight B is adapted to slide upon the arm and traverse it from one end to the other under the operation of certain mechanism, to be presently set forth. Similarly secured to the gear A and projecting I'twardly therefrom in an opposite direction to that of the arm 0 on the opposite edge of the gear is another peculiarly-shaped arm or extension, E, which carries a weight, D, said weight being fixed and not sliding like the To weight B, but yet is adjustable, so that it may be stationed at different points upon the arm E. The part E is so shaped as to permit pins L and M to project therefrom and at a suitable distance apart, as will be perceived from inspection of Fig. 1. The weighted arms 0 and E form, in connection with the gear A, what might be termed a steelyard, whose fulcrum is a support on which the gear A swings.

In the rear of the gear A a gear, F, is fixed upon the hour-hand sleeve. This gear revolves once in twelve hours. It meshes with a larger gear, G, which is of such a size that it completes its revolution once in twentyfour hours.

of the weighted arm E. On the face of the gear G next to this weighted arm is rigidly secured a cam, H. The shape of the cam is best shown in Fig. 3. It has a curved outline 0 which is parallel to the circumference of the gear G, said outline terminating in an upper point, K, and in a lower point, N, the lower point being opposite to the upper and vertically beneath it when the gear is in the posi- 5 tion shown in Fig. 3.

The points K and N, in addition to being connected by the symmetrically-curved outlinejust mentioned, are also connected by an irregular outline. The cam H during the revolutions of the gears G moves in contact with the pins L and M on the arm E. The cam H connects with the sliding weight B by means of a connecting-rod, I, which is pivoted at one end to the cam and at the other end 5 to the weight, and said rod is made in any desirable shape and form, a preferable form being that shown in the drawings, where it consists of a sort of frame which surrounds the collar and hour-hand sleeve.

Fig. 4t shows in detail the preferable form of the connecting-rod. As the cam H revolves, it is evident that the connecting-rod will act to reciprocate the weight B upon the arm 0. When the weight B is near the outermost end of said arm 0, the other weighted end of the steelyard aforementioned will have been overcome, so that the weight B will drop, thus causing the gear A to rotate a-short distance and shift all the spindles. When the weight B has been drawn to its innermost position on the rod 0, a reverse movement of the gear will take place.

Having thus described the construction of the several mechanical parts which go to make up my automatic device for shifting in unison all the spindles of a timepiece dial, I de- The gear G is located in the rear sire to briefly recount the mode of operation of these parts.

The gear G will revolve, as I have already mentioned, under the actuating impulse of the gear F, and in its revolutions it will carry with it the cam H, the edge of which is in contact with the pins upon the weighted arm E. The direction of motion of the cam is shown by the arrow of Figs. 1 and 3. In Fig. 1 the parts are shown in the position where the point K of the cam has just been released from the pin L, thus permitting the latter to drop, because the connecting-rod has drawn the weight B to its innermost position, and hence the weighted arm E is heavier than arm 0, and when the cam no longer holds up said arm by resting beneath the pin L the arm 7 must drop, and this causes the gear-wheel A to rotate sufficiently far to shift the spindles in one direction, which is in this case a reverse or backward direction. Now suppose the cam to continue revolving from the position we have just seen it occupying in Fig. 1. The point N will pass beneath the pin M and the cam will ride upon said pin until the point K has reached the pin M, when it Wlll. be released from said pin; but at the same time that the point K ceases to act on pin M the weight B will have been pushed to its outermost position on the arm 0; hence when the cam no longer holds down the weighted part E the overbalancing weight of the arm will cause the part to be lifted, which will result in a partial rotation of the gear A and a consequent shifting of all the spindles in a forward direction. Therotation of the cam will progress until it again reaches the point where it will drop off from the pin L, as has just been explained.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a timepiece, the combination, with a series of rotary spindles, each having a pinion thereon, of a rotative gear intermeshing with the series of pinions and carrying rela tively-movable weights, together with me chanical devices for adjusting the weights to cause the gear to rock, and thus shift the spindles, substantially as described.

2. In a time-piece, the combination, with a series of rotary spindles, each having a pinion thereon, of a loosely-mounted gear intermeshing with the pinions and having oppositely-projecting extensions or arms, suitable weights carried upon said extensions, and mechanism for moving said weights, so that one may overbalance the other, and thus rock the gear and shift the spindles, as set forth.

3. In a time-piece, a series of rotary spindles carrying the numeral-indicating devices and each provided with a pinion, in combination with a loosely-mounted gear engaging the pinions and supporting oppositely-located weights, and mechanism for adjusting the weights to rock the gear and shift the spindies, consisting of a cam, a link-connection between it and one of the weights, and a gearing-connection between the cam and the time-piece movement, all substantially as set forth.

4. 'In a time-piece, the combination, with a series of spindles, a loosely-mounted gear engaging the spindles, so as to shift them when it is rocked and having oppositely-projecting arms, weights carried upon said arms, a rotating cam operated by connection with the time-piece mechanism and acting upon projections or pins 011 one of the weighted arms, while it connects with and causes the weight upon the other arm to slide thereon, all the parts operating to accomplish a rocking of the gear at stated intervals, substantially as described.

5. In a timepiece, a series of rotary devices carrying the numeral indicators, a looselymounted wheel geared or connected to the spindles so as to shift them all in unison when it is rocked, said wheel having relatively-adjustable weighted extensions, and mechanism for moving the weights, so that one may over-balance the other and rock the gear, substantially specified.

O. In a time-piece, the combination of the spindles having pinions a, the gear-wheel A, meshing with the pinions and having arms C and E, said arm 0 carrying sliding weight B, and said arm E carrying stationary weight D and having pins L and M, the cam II, secured on a gear which drives it, and the connecting-rod I between cam H and the weight B, substantially as described.

7. In a time-piece, the combination of a series of spindles having pinions a, alooselymounted gear-wheel, A, engaging the pinions, the weighted arms 0 and E, the cam II, and mechanical devices whereby the cam is enabled to cause the gear to rock at intervals, and thus shift the spindles, so that numerals from 1 to 12 and 12 to 24L will be exposed alternately, as described.

I11 testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MARTIN V. B. ETHRIDGE.

Witnesses:

OHAs. HALL ADAMS, G. W. TROWBRIDGE. 

